’Canes surpass 100 in rout
New Castle (107) Vs. George Junior Republic (66)
Jan 24, 2012
The New Castle High boys basketball team was on fire last night.
The Red Hurricane shot just under 52 percent from the floor in rolling up a 107-66 nonsection win over George Junior Republic at the Ne-Ca-Hi Field House.
New Castle (15-0), ranked No. 1 in the WPIAL in Class AAA by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and No. 2 in the state by the Patriot-News of Harrisburg, was coming off a 68-58 win over previously unbeaten Montour on Saturday.
“We talked a lot about it,” ’Canes coach Ralph Blundo said about guarding against a letdown. “We talked about what’s in front of us and the goals we have.
“Normally our goals are to get better. There’s no denying there’s an opportunity for these young men to see that we’re getting better. I’ve always said that if you stand still others will pass you up.”
New Castle built a 35-14 lead after the first quarter and never looked back.
Corey Eggleston led four ’Canes scorers in double figures with a game-best 25 points. He was 10 of 20 from the field and 15 of his markers came in the first half, while handing out six assists.
“Corey really had that pull-up jumper going,” Blundo said. “That’s the extra element for his game. If he can get that going, he’s really hard to guard.”
Shawn Anderson followed Eggleston’s effort with 15 markers and six assists. Brandon Domenick and Stew Allen collected 11 markers apiece. Malik Hooker and Jesse Salzano tossed in nine points each for the victors.
Hooker secured six rebounds to go along with four steals. Antonio Rudolph grabbed a team-high seven boards for New Castle.
“We are proud of the fact that game in and game out we put in the same effort,” Blundo said. “By in large, I think our guys are pretty good when the lights come on; they come out ready and they compete.”
New Castle was 41 of 79 from the floor, including 14 of 33 from behind the arc. The ’Canes committed just five turnovers as well, compared to 24 for George Junior Republic.
“When it’s going well it’s going well and we shot it well tonight,” Blundo said.
Marlon Richardson recorded 21 points to lead the Tigers (7-8).